Standing On "High Ground"

Mountain climber George Mallory coined the simplest reason to climb a mountain.

“Because it’s there,” he said.

But former College of DuPage student and employee Steve Baskis has a different reason:
“If I climb to the top of the mountain and achieve such a strenuous, physically and
mentally taxing activity, I feel less disabled.”

Baskis is what his former boss, Shelly Mencacci, COD’s coordinator of veterans and
military personnel student services, calls “inspirational.”

Baskis has climbed mountains and volcanoes, completed triathlons and half marathons,
trained for a Paralympics cycling team and more.

And he’s done it all blind—literally.

Baskis is featured in a 2012 documentary film called “High Ground,” which chronicles
a group of U.S. military veterans climbing Lobuche, a 20,000-foot peak near Mount
Everest.

“High Ground” got a sneak preview at COD. Baskis was on hand to answer questions.

In the film, Baskis and his fellow climbers face more obstacles than the mountain
before them. There are veterans with artificial limbs, post-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, and more. We learn about their struggles and the wartime events that triggered
them.

Baskis, for example, fell victim to a roadside bomb that killed his buddy, Staff Sgt.
Victor Coda, who was riding next to him. Baskis was blinded in both eyes and has limited
use of his left hand.

But “High Ground” isn’t the story of Steve Baskis getting knocked down. It’s the story
of Steve Baskis ascending.

Before departing for Iraq, says Baskis in “High Ground,” “My father…made me promise
him that if something were to happen to me and I was to come back a different person
physically or mentally, that I would not give up—that I would try my hardest to live
my life.”

So following treatment and rehab, Baskis started doing just that—by enrolling in classes
at COD and working for the College as a Veterans Administration work-study student
employee.

“Speaking and listening to veterans who attend COD reminds me of how resilient service
members can be,” said Baskis. “I feel that if an individual has the drive and motivation
to continue learning, then nothing can keep them from pursuing their dreams. Not to
say it’s easy, but if they keep that goal in mind, they can go anywhere they want
to go.”

While the film showcases Baskis’ perseverance, his emotional honesty is especially
compelling. At one point, he chokes up while talking with his fellow climbers.

“It doesn’t matter how much pain, suffering, blood, sweat, whatever,” says Baskis.
“I’ll push as hard as I can. It’s like this deep dark black abyss I stare into. It’s
like never ending. I wish I could see everything that’s around us. I wish that I could
see the sunset, the sunrise. But I can’t. But I could see. And I’m glad. I could see
for so long.”

The film cuts to beautiful images of raindrops on rooftops, smoke from a chimney,
snow covered peaks.

While the viewer is crushed that Baskis can’t see this, you shed your own tears when
he fords streams, scales rocks, works ropes with one good hand and reaches the summit
anyway.

Besides feeling less disabled, Baskis says he climbs for Victor.

“His death changed my life forever,” Baskis says in the film, “I have my bad days
and my good days. If I don’t make the summit, it’s not the end of a life, you know.
It’s all in your mind at that point. How do you assert your mind over your challenges?
When I feel sorry for myself, Victor always comes into mind.”

At top: Steve Baskis overcomes extreme physical challenges to reach the summit of
Mt. Lobuche in “HIGH GROUND,” now available on Netflix, directed by Michael Brown,
produced by Don Hahn and Michael Brown. Photo credit: Rex Pemberton

Resources:

High Ground Movie Trailer

High Ground follows a team of veterans returning from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq as they set out to climb a towering Himalayan peak to overcome challenges and heal the mental and emotional ravages of war.

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